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NORTHERN EUROPEAN OFFICER'S CAMPAIGN SWORD CA.1650

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Description
This is a very interesting ca.1630 Northern European officer's campaign sword. The middle section of the knuckle-bow is shaped in the form of two balls, as is the quillon tip, a feature we begin to see during the Thirty Year War on Northern-European martial hilts. Behind the counter-guard there is a narrow slot that once held some type of inner guard, perhaps a shell, now long gone. The massive pear-shaped pommel balances the blade quite nicely. The blade is 81 cm long, it is sharply-tapering from being 4 cm wide at the hilt to the still sharp point. Each fuller on either side of the blade is inscribed ANTONI MILANI. The original turned wood grip has a acquired a superb glistening patina.

This combination of features suggest the approximate age of this sword as being from the Thirty Year War period, quite possibly Swedish in origin. It's a true military weapon, an officer's battle sword, with a simple, sturdy hilt with a thumb ring, made to withstand the travails of field wear, and with a well-made, well-tempered blade. The sword is quite tight, with no loose parts, and has developed a nice uniform patina.

Swords of this style became popular in Sweden and the Low Countries during the Thirty Year War. A very similar form of hilt was on the field sword of the Swedish Field Marshal Carl Gustav Wrangel; it also has a very large, pear-shaped pommel, scrolled grip, and a guard with balled knuckle-bow. A picture of Wrangel's sword is attached.